At the edge of a major meeting of the country’s top leaders, the leaders of three major provinces unveiled an agreement to push for massive new pipeline and railway projects.
On Tuesday, Ontario and Alberta added Saskatchewan to an agreement signed a couple of weeks ago, specifically to explore trade and plan pipelines and new rail infrastructure.
That plan, outlined in a memorandum of understanding, is to work together to study a potential east-west pipeline made with domestically produced steel to connect to the not-yet-built James Bay deep-sea port in Ontario.
It also means the two provinces will study the feasibility of building a railway line from the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario to mineral processing facilities in Western Canada.
As she unveiled the latest recruit to the agreement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fired a warning shot at Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was due to arrive in the same building for talks with premiers about an hour earlier.
“If Prime Minister Mark Carney doesn’t want to work with us, it’s not just myself and Scott Moe he has to worry about; he’ll also have to contend with Premier Doug Ford,” she said. “It’s time to get rid of the bad laws that have harmed Canada’s ability to grow the energy sector.”
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Ford’s office said the agreement unveiled with Saskatchewan on the edges of a series of major leaders meetings in Muskoka was broadly the same as the one Ontario and Alberta had already agreed to, with some minor changes.
“We are sending a clear signal that Canada’s energy future will be built by Canadians, for Canadians,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, the latest signatory, said in a statement.
“This agreement commits our provinces to work together to unlock new markets, shore up our supply chains from mine to port and advocate for the federal reforms our industry needs.”
Where other major provinces stand on the issue remains unclear. Quebec Premier François Legault did not answer questions in English about the pipeline agreement signed by the three provinces.
When asked about the possibility of a railway project, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said his province “already (has) a railway.
“This is not imaginary,” Kinew said tersely. “I think our project’s the best because it’s real.”
Kinew was referring to his proposal to build a new port at Hudson Bay to create shipping routes for Canadian exports, including oil.
When asked whether Ontario and Alberta have Manitoba’s buy-in for the joint provincial project,t Kinew said he was “on Team Canada.”
He added, “We’re all working together, building up the country.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he wasn’t invited to sign the agreement. Asked if he would have taken part if he had been asked, he replied: “I don’t know what it said.”
Separately, Ontario has sewn up interprovincial trade agreements with a total of 10 provinces and territories, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
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